Ballade of Life's Dream
BALLADE OF LIFE'S DREAM
BY RICHARD LE GALLIENNE
THE cry is that the world grows old—
Though I for one the charge gainsay—
That every fairy-tale is told
And all Romance is passed away.
Believe it not, this summer day;
Better believe yon running stream.
That hath this wiser word to say—
Life's still the same old foolish dream.
Yea! let the shrill reformers scold
And all our fair illusions flay;
Our blood refuses to run cold.
Our happy hearts know more than they;
The something splendid in our clay
Shrivels with fire their dusty theme.
Come, sweetheart, kiss me while we may—
Life's still the same old foolish dream.
Still the old earth, with blue and gold,
Laughs at the gospels of decay,
Rings to the stars its challenge bold,
And works its work and plays its play,
What though the devil be to pay!
Living's a gay and gallant scheme,
'Tis only fools that say it nay—
Life's still the same old foolish dream.
Lord of my being, I humbly lay
Thanks at Thy throne, how strange it seems,
For life, that too brief holiday.
Life—still the same old foolish dream.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1947, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 76 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
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